Norwegian striker Erling Haaland had a quiet night as Manchester City settled for a 1-1 draw at RB Leipzig.
The visitors capitalized on their first-half dominance when Riyad Mahrez was through on goal and expertly dispatched his shot for the lead.
In the second half, the hosts came out of the blocks with much more vigor and intensity. And it finally paid off when center-back Gvardiol towered over Manchester City’s defense to head home the equalizer.
Manchester City had a shout for a penalty on the stroke of full-time after a controversial handball from Benjamin Henrichs. However, the Video Assistant Referee seemed to ignore the incident.
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Meanwhile, goal machine Erling Haaland really struggled to get going during the match. His first touch in the opposition box came in the 68th minute of the match.
The Norwegian’s blank on the night took his tally to just one goal in his last six outings, which is way below the standard he has set.
Fans were quick to react to his performance against the Bundesliga side.
One fan, @tabagiro, complained, “Haaland is the problem at Man City… Never drops deep to pick up play, waiting for deliveries in the box, and having fewer touches than any Man City player in each game.”
@BilalArdale added, “Haaland needs to watch how Osimhen plays and take notes”
However, some fans also came to the Norwegian’s defense.
@daly_robinson tweeted, “Pointless having Haaland if no one’s going to pass to him. He makes so many runs in our build-ups, and we hold it and check back, time after time.”
“This match just exposed other City players (for the fact) that they don’t pass the ball to Haaland. Only De Bruyne looks for him, and unfortunately, he didn’t feature tonight. Haaland got zero service.” @iam__sidoq added.
Meanwhile, Kevin de Bruyne was ruled out of the first leg against RB Leipzig due to illness. Eventually, the Premier League champions will need the explosive partnership of De Bruyne and Haaland in the second leg if they are to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
